Richie's Madness
by NovemberFall
Summary: A short scene taking place in the motel just after Richie has killed the woman. Questions Seth's and Richie's relationship - but is Richie's mind just playing tricks on him again?


Disclaimer: I do not own From Dusk Till Dawn

Warnings: Could be incest, generally a lot of crazy from Richie. Language.

Takes places in the motel after Richie kills the woman.

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The one time Seth doesn't feel in control is when he's got Richie pressed up against that wall, because all he can see is his scared younger brother not understanding what he's done even though there's blood drying under his fingernails and flecks in his hair. He can see the bloodied bed out of the corner of his eye and there's nothing he can do to get rid of the image, that image which has no control or method and is not poetic in its execution.

When Seth loses the steel grip on his anger, he is still in control. Whether that control comes from having a gun in his hand with the barrel pointing in someone's face or from simple threats of violence – there is always control over the course of events. But Richie is unpredictable, the Joker in his suit, and he is starting to make Seth nervous.

Seth grips on tighter to Richie, closing his eyes and pushing his body fuller against his brother's – just to give him a warning, show him how Seth could hurt him if he wanted, show him how much restraint he has, how much control. But when he opens his eyes and Richie still has his burger gripped tightly in his hand, he feels his hold begin to slip and he knows – goddammit does he know – that if he slips he will become that which he despises so; he will become Richie. Seth knocks the burger away and wraps a hand around Richie's jaw, forcing the boy's face up towards him and knocking his glasses off in the process. Richie's bloody, gaffer-taped hand slips and slides against Seth's arms as he fights but his hands stop their futile fight as he realises that Seth is on the verge. Everyone thought Richie was crazy, so easy to read and understand (because a crazy person can just be avoided, right?), but Seth was the real nut job, the really dangerous one, because he got you believing that he wasn't crazy, that he was completely _in control_. But Richie knew, and he could see it in his brother's eyes as he stared up into them, felt his brother's muscles holding him against the wall, felt the gun that was stuck down Seth's belt. He was driving his brother crazy, and he just couldn't help it.

"She was trying to get away," Richie tries to explain, nearly biting his own tongue in half as Seth slams a hand over his mouth.

"No, she wasn't." He mutters, shaking his head, "She was just-" Seth can feel Richie's lip shaking under his fingertips and he lifts his hand slightly, letting his fingers trail up his brother's jaw. Richie relaxes when Seth's smile returns, the one that let him get away with so much, the one which said _trust me_. Richie falters though, as he looks up into his brother's eyes, as he notices the cruel flick at the end of the smile, preventing it from reaching his eyes.

"Seth?" He whispers, holding up his arms in a dreadful parody, an attempt to show that he was no threat to his brother. Seth's mouth slams into his own before he can take a breath, the fingers on his jaw keeping his head perfectly still. It isn't a kiss, just Seth trying to bruise his way through into Richie's head, and Richie presses back into the wall, one hand flat against the wood, right hand wrapped around the door frame as he tries not to panic. His bad hand slides down the door frame, snagging on a nail sticking out rudely from the wood, and it pulls on the ragged flesh making Richie gasp with a sudden onslaught of pain. Seth surges against him, tongue plundering his mouth with vicious method, drawing back only to nip on Richie's lips before delving inside him once again. Richie manages a small "Seth?" before his mouth is covered again, but the fingers around his jaw tighten and suddenly his head is flung backwards, meeting the wood with a sickening crack and Richie slumps to the floor.

Richie awakens, slumped in the chair where he was eating his burger – which is lying on the floor a little way from him – and sluggishly tries to recall what happened. Seth is nowhere to be seen, the woman isn't sat in the seat where they left her though. Richie stood up slowly, the pain blossoming out from the back of his head like ink in water, leaning against the door frame into the bedroom. Ah yes, the memories came flooding back to Richie, the bitch had tried to escape and he'd stopped her, as a good brother should. He raised his fingers to his lips, surprised to find the digits shaking, and touched them to his face as though they were foreign objects. His jaw wasn't bruised, though his head hurt like a motherfucker – and where the hell was Seth?

The door banged as Seth returned, making Richie jump up from his chair.

"You ready to go?" He brother asked sharply, "your hand okay? Head feel alright?" Richie nodded mutely and looked at the floor, picking up his discarded burger and placing it on the table. "You sure you're alright?" Seth looked at him with concern. "That was quite a knock to the head you took." Richie looked up, confusion creasing his brow, making his head hurt even more. "You don't remember? She hit you with a lamp, right round the back of the skull. C'mon, we need to head off." Richie glanced back into the bedroom and sure enough, there was the lamp on the floor, lead yanked right from the plug as someone had ripped it from the wall.

Richie grinned and skipped happily after his brother. Sometimes his mind had a tendency of making things up, but everything always got sorted out within a few hours. Seth would never do that to him, once again it was just his mind making him think things like the other times, and Seth always told him what had really happened. The cut on his bottom lip was odd, but was probably that bitch back in the bedroom while she clawed at his face. Everything has an explanation.

Seth just drinks his whiskey and tries to get the taste of Richie out of his mouth.


End file.
